I think my 5D has shown more finder dust than any of my OM's but I've
never considered it the problem that some do. I have cleaned the mirror
box and finder area once using a small bit of that most wonderful
product... Swiffer Duster. Be sure to vacuum the piece of duster after
cutting since the cutting itself leaves behind small threads clinging to
the cut piece. I put the mirror up and dust the mirror box. Then with
mirror back down I remove the screen and dust the screen, bottom of the
pentaprism and the mirror. Works fine. One of these days I'll get up
the courage to try it on the sensor. I've read warnings about picking
up grease inside the mirror box but haven't spotted any in the 5D.
I've now cleaned my sensor twice in 8 months. But it should really only
count for once since the first try wasn't very effective. I first tried
using the wet method with Pec Pads and methanol and a cut-down rubber
spatula as a tool. I actually had to do that three times since the
first two passes left more dust behind than was on the sensor to begin
with. The third pass was pretty effective but still left behind 3 or 4
dust flecks. I put up with that until trying the brush method here:
<http://www.prime-junta.net/pont/How_to/a_Brush_Your_Sensor/a_Brush_Your_Sensor.pdf>
Once the brushes are bought and prepared this is absolute simplicity and
quite effective. I bought two cosmetic mask brushes on ebay similar to
that illustrated on page 4 for about $10 including the shipping.
<http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-2-Facial-Mask-Brush-skin-care-cheek-massage-oil-44_W0QQitemZ250014999390QQihZ015QQcategoryZ72770QQcmdZViewItem>
I subjected them to the "filter test" discussed in the article and found
that the brushes contained a lot of very fine, powdery dust. I washed
them thoroughly in a bit of dish washing detergent and after thorough
rinsing and drying they passed the filter test with flying colors. Once
cleaned I stored them in a small zip-lock plastic bag.
My cleaning cycle was: remove brush #1 from bag, rap bristles several
times against back edge of stainless steel table knife several times,
sweep one side of brush across sensor, turn brush over and sweep back in
the opposite direction. Rap bristles again to dislodge any dust and
place back in plastic bag. Since my brushes are only 1/2" wide it takes
two sweeps to cover the whole sensor. Then, for good measure since I
have two brushes, repeat the process with brush #2. Do dust check on
sensor by shooting clear blue sky at f/22. Discover only one dust spot
left. Test again at f/11. Can't see it except at f/16 and f/22. Leave
well enough alone.
In the future I will only clean with the brushes unless there's
something really stubborn. Then I'll try my Sensor-Klear device on a
spot basis and only go back to Pec Pads and methanol as a last resort.
The brush cleaning was very effective and can be done in a couple of
minutes.
Chuck Norcutt
Paul Shields wrote:
>
> I also dabbled with the 5D last year, and ended up selling it on. I just
> preferred the E-1 even though it couldn't get near the low-noise/high
> ISO, detail, shallow DoF, speed of AF etc of the Canon. The
> clackety-clack of the 5D and the dust (on sensor, and especially all
> over the viewfinder - a common trait of the 5D) was an irritation. The
> E-400 reminds me a lot of the 5D actually when viewing detail - that
> extra 5mp compared to the E-1 does make a nice difference. If Canon do
> an improved 5D with the irritating things fixed then I may be tempted
> again in a year or so, but only if Olympus completely cock up on the E-x...
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